In My Humble Opinion

Let me be clear, here. John Edwards is scum.  However, to hear the media, you'd think he was the only man who ever ran around on his wife. Fortunately, the jury had the good sense to know that having the morals of an alley cat isn't against the law. They didn't like John Edwards, but the Prosecution couldn't prove he did anything illegal. So, the jury held their noses and voted to acquit on one count, and hung up on the rest.

That said, I do feel a tad-bit sorry for the guy. I started feeling some sympathy for him when Elizabeth went to great lengths to make herself the perfect victim, and thus, the darling of the media. She appeared on every single network and cable show, with the intention of trashing her husband.  Talk about a woman scorned. She spent what time she had left on this earth trying to make sure John would suffer.  John never once said a word, either in his own defense or against her.  That says a lot about the characters of both parties to me.

While she was making sure the country and the world knew what a cad John was, she apparently didn't care what it was doing to their three children, all of whom were old enough to know what was going on, and from what she said in one interview, she made sure they knew all about it.  We may never know how much emotional damage she might have done to them.  In my book, that makes her just as bad in her own way as her wandering husband was in his.

Then, there was Rielle, the other woman. She's some piece of work, herself, giving interviews and appearing in magazines, etc.  And, now she has written a book that is advertised as a "tell-all."  Of course she has. What a classy broad.

I predict that John Edwards will come out of this all right.  He's an excellent lawyer, who has always worked for children and the downtrodden. I don't expect to see him in any political arena any time soon, but I wouldn't rule it out. He's still young enough to re-invent himself. It's been done before. Look at Bill Clinton, if you don't agree.

So, good luck to him. And, next time, maybe he can keep his zipper zipped.

When Will We Learn?

I never post articles in their entirety, but I will this one, because this is happening in many states with Republican Governors and Legislatures.  If this doesn't convince voters to focus on their own states' congressmen, senators and Governors, State Attorneys General, etc. I don't know what else to say. 

From the LJWorld in Lawrence, Kansas,( I believe):

"Gov. Sam Brownback’s signing of the new Kansas Tax Act on Tuesday was a historic event. The act will shape the lives of Kansans for many years to come.

The nonpartisan Legislative Research Department has estimated that the act will reduce Kansas government revenues by $4.5 billion over the next six years. Inevitably, there will be major reductions in the government services Kansans have come to expect — especially education.

Equally important, the act dramatically changes the Kansas tax system, shifting the income tax burden from the wealthy and prosperous to working people. The act provides that all income of business owners is tax-free (except in the unusual case where a regular corporation is used). Although the act was promoted as a boost to small business, there is no limit on the size of business that can be exempt from tax.
Income of professionals — such as doctors, lawyers, architects, and accountants — practicing in partnerships will be tax-free. In a law firm, for example, the partners will pay no tax, while the clerical staff will continue on the tax rolls.

Income received from partnerships and trusts will be tax-free. Wealthy Kansans who own real estate, stocks, bonds and other investments will simply transfer those assets to a partnership or trust, thereby freeing all their investment income from tax.

All income of farmers will be exempt from tax.

Who will still be paying Kansas income tax? Only three groups: 1) employees, 2) some retirees and 3) individuals whose investments are so modest that they cannot afford to create a trust or partnership to shelter their investment income.

Kansas government relies on three taxes: property, sales and income. Property and sales taxes are regressive in the sense that a lower-income person pays more of these taxes as a percent of income than does a higher-income person. The new income tax will be dramatically regressive. Low- and moderate-income workers will remain on the tax rolls. Meanwhile, wealthy Kansans will readily escape the tax, and many prosperous (but not wealthy) Kansans will be able to evade the tax as well. Beginning in 2013, the Kansas tax system will be among the most regressive in the nation.

Can a just society tax the poor while not taxing the rich?"


We don't need to worry about the Presidential race, because if the states have their way, the President will just become an extraneous part of the government, while corporations and lobbyists take over and run the country, with the help of the Congress, the State Governments and the Supreme Court. 

I'm beginning to think that things have gone so far, voters will never be able to turn things around.  When we finally wake up, it will be too late, and it will be our own fault.

Stay tuned.

Scotty is Beamed Up, At Last

Space X Dragon capsule carried the ashes of James Doohan, who played Scotty on Star Trek and those of 319 others, including those of Mercury astronaut, L. Gordon Cooper, to the International Space Station.

Not all the ashes, of course.  Only 1 gram of cremains in urns the size of watch batteries were taken as what the company called "symbolic burials."   Way to go, Scotty.

(Click on image to imbiggen.)

Stay tuned.

The Truth Is The Truth

Stay tuned.

Those Endlessly Entertaining Republicans

Taking the Crazy Abroad

Well, well.  It seems that during the time Michele Bachmann was so earnestly campaigning for the presidency of this country, she was just as earnestly going through the process of becoming a citizen of Switzerland.  There she was, telling us how much more "American" she was and she was secretly looking forward to dual citizenship with another country.  When the media got hold of the story, she claimed she only did it because her children wanted to be Swiss citizens, so she decided to make it a family affair.

That was yesterday.  Today, she says she is renouncing her Swiss citizenship.  And she wants us to know that she is as proud to be an American as an American can be.

Look at those eyes, folks, it's all there in her eyes.

So, why am I craving hot chocolate? 

Once a Bully..........

The news was a-buzz yesterday with reports that Mitt Romney took part in bullying while he was in school. He and a group of his friends got a gay student down and cut his hair.  Mitt had no recollection of such a thing happening.

That was yesterday.  Today, it has all come back to him and he calls it a schoolboy prank.  And, he apologizes if it hurt anyone.  In the rest of his rambling admission, he seems to be saying, "Hey, it was OK back then. But, now things have changed."

Is Nothing Sacred? 

First, there's a mother seen breastfeeding her 21 month old son in a museum, who takes offense when she is asked to move to the area designated for that activity.

Now, we have the cover of Time magazine glorifying the breastfeeding of a 3 year old.

Hasn't anyone heard of weaning children by age one?  Even animals don't allow it indefinitely.

This MUST be another  Republican value that they are trying to force on us.  I find it offensive on many levels.

OK, forget the hot chocolate. 

Stay tuned.

North Carolina

Congratulations, North Carolina! You have managed to legalize hatred and discrimination. Fools.

War on Women? What War on Women?

 The above is a letter to the editor from our paper, The Daily Disappointment. I suppose it is possible the writer was just being tongue-in-cheek, but I seriously doubt it. It had the ring of a true believer about it.It's hard to convey sarcasm, etc. in writing, but I didn't recognize any attempt here.

So, if women had never gotten the vote, the country would just be hunky-dory, eh?  Never mind that men still dominate the government, and their lame actions have brought us to this point in history.  And women are the cause of "the moral mess" we have, such as busted families. Listen, Ace, if Adam hadn't been such a weakling, Eve would never have been able to tempt him with that apple.  So, don't go blaming women for everything immoral.

People with this guy's attitude (assuming he's serious, of course) just frost me.

My  "spiritual discernment" tells me Mr. Sumrell and his kind are batty as betsy-bugs.

Stay tuned.